Tracie Peterson - [Land of the Lone Star 03] by Taming the Wind

ready?”
    Osage gave him a look of disgust. “Have you ever known me not to be ready for a job? Your pa always knew he could count on me to have my work under control.”
    “I wasn’t really questionin’ your abilities, Osage—just makin’ conversation.”
    The old man grinned. “I knowed it. Couldn’t help givin’ you a bad time of it since your pa ain’t here to do the job.”
    “I miss him,” Tyler said, looking off across the ranch. “I know he would have wanted to go on this drive. He always dreamed of bein’ a big Texas rancher.”
    “You can carry on that dream.”
    Tyler looked at the older man. “I’d like to, but that’s hard to do without a ranch. Doesn’t look too favorable, either. Will’s doin’ all he can, but you know how folks feel about us Rebels.”
    “What I know is that folks are wrong. You deserve to have your land back. The boys and me are behind you on that. In fact, I’ll do what I can to help you. I didn’t bear arms against anyone, so maybe I can help you get the ranch back.”
    “Will says the same thing, but in truth it ain’t the same. I shouldn’t have to rely on someone else to get back what is rightfully mine.”
    “Oh, so now you’re too good to have help, is that it?”
    Tyler shook his head. “That’s not it at all. I just . . . well . . . I want to have what’s mine returned. I shouldn’t need anyone’s help to have that happen. It’s Atherton land. It ought to be returned to an Atherton.”
    “Say, ain’t that the judge hisself?” Osage asked, pointing.
    Tyler’s attention was drawn to the men coming from around the house. William was crossing the yard with a man that Tyler knew to be Judge Peevy from Dallas. “It is. Maybe he has news.” Tyler pushed off the fence to go meet them.
    “I’ll get back to work, but you let me know what you find out, ya hear?”
    “I will,” Tyler said over his shoulder. He kept walking toward the two men. “Have you had some word about my claim to the ranch?”
    “It’s not good news, I’m afraid.” Peevy rubbed his white beard. “I’ve met with resistance from every direction. Your service for the Confederacy is the biggest obstacle we’re up against. The Republicans are not easily swayed to do anything that resembles aiding the enemy.”
    “The enemy, eh?” Tyler shook his head. “I could have figured that’d be the way of it. My grandfather might have wanted me to serve in support of the South, but my father didn’t fight against the Union.”
    “Well, we aren’t giving up just yet,” William interjected. “Judge Peevy is working to tie this up as long as possible. He thought he might be able to work out something to at least get the property returned to your mother.”
    “It won’t be easy,” Peevy added, “but we’re trying to fight this from every angle. But it hasn’t helped that your mother moved away to live with her cousin or that your sister married a former Confederate major. Had they remained on the property, it might be a different story now. There might have been some sympathy for a widow. Even if she is a Southerner.”
    Peevy’s comment only served to anger Tyler. “I thought the country was supposed to be unified now. I thought we were supposed to put aside the past and move forward.”
    “If you were on the right side of the war, that’s true enough,” Judge Peevy replied. “I’m sure life in the North goes on as it did before, except for the fact that they want to make the South suffer and pay for the war. I’d like to believe the past issues can be put aside, but frankly, there’s too much bad blood to wash away.”
    “Perhaps if Lincoln had lived,” Will began, “he might have been able to change the hearts and minds of the people. Especially those in Washington. His death has left a bitterness between the North and South that might never heal.”
    “William is right. Even those of us who supported the Union are looked upon as the enemy for simply